No. 5 SOFTBALL ENTERS FINAL HOME SERIES AGAINST No. 17 WASHINGTON ON FRIDAY AND TOP-RANKED UCLA OVER THE WEEKEND; BEAVERS EARN PROGRAM’S FIRST TOP-5 RANKING
Friday, May 5
No. 17 Washington (30-19; 4-11) at No. 5 OSU (37-8; 9-5) - 3 p.m. PDT (Corvallis)
Saturday, May 6
No. 1 UCLA (40-5; 12-3) at No. 5 OSU - 1 p.m. PDT (Corvallis)
Sunday, May 7
No. 1 UCLA at No. 5 OSU - 12 p.m. PDT (Corvallis)
FAST FACTS: No. 5 ranked Oregon State has been ranked in the nation’s Top-10 for 10 consecutive weeks...The Beavers’ No. 5 national ranking is the highest in program history...Four of Oregon State’s final seven games are against teams ranked in the top-3 in the country.
OSU AND UW SERIES NUMBERS: Washington has won 14 of the last 23 meetings with Oregon State and leads the all-time series, 37-12, but the Beavers are 12-30 against the Huskies with at the helm. The Beavers have won four of the last five games in the series, including a pair of wins against the Huskies in Seattle earlier this season. The sweep in the Emerald City was the first ever for Oregon State and marked just the third and fourth victories in program history for OSU at UW.
OSU AND UCLA SERIES NUMBERS: UCLA leads the all-time series with Oregon State, 70-8, but the Beavers are 8-37 against the Bruins with at the helm. UCLA has won 20 of the last 24 outings, but Oregon State has picked up victories against the Bruins in three straight seasons, including a 2-0 victory on April 21 in Los Angeles. The Oregon State victory marked the first for the Beavers at Easton Stadium since the 1999 campaign - a span of 10 games. Since the OSU Softball Complex opened in 2001, Oregon State holds a 2-5 record against the Bruins in Corvallis - the Beavers beat the top-ranked Bruins, 2-1, in the inaugural game played at the stadium.
SUNDAY’S SENIOR DAY - THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: Sunday marks the final regular season game to be played at the OSU Softball Complex for Beaver seniors , , , , , and . The players will be honored in a pre-game ceremony, scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Sunday. Here is a quick glimpse of highlights from their stellar careers...
- Ranks in OSU’s career Top 10 in six batting categories; hit the game-winning grand slam against No. 2 ranked Arizona in 2005 to help the Beavers win the season series against the Wildcats for the first time in program history.
- Ranks in OSU’s career Top 5 in eight batting categories; hit a walk-off 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning that led the Beavers to victory over Wisconsin and sparked OSU’s 25-game winning streak in 2005.
- Went 10-for-13 from the plate in four games against Portland State during 2005 after earning All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference honors the previous season for the Vikings.
- Ranks in the OSU career Top 10 in eight batting categories; hit a walk-off home run in the first championship game at the 2004 NCAA Regional Tournament against University of Michigan to move the Beavers within one win of their first Women’s College World Series berth.
- Earned victories against five teams ranked in the Top 25; as a freshman walk-on pitched all 11 innings against top-ranked Arizona in the longest game ever played at the OSU Softball Complex.
- Belted a home run against Bowling Green in the 2004 NCAA Regional Tournament.
HOME RUN WATCH: As a team, Oregon State has hit a home run in eight consecutive games. Starting with a pair of long balls at top-ranked UCLA on April 21, the Beavers have a streak of two home runs in a game, followed by a one homer game. If the streak holds true for a ninth straight game, the Beavers would be due to hit a pair of home runs on Friday against No. 17 Washington.
MORE ON THE HOME RUN FRONT: Oregon State enters the week having hit 49 home runs on the year. The Beavers have hit 45-plus home runs in four straight seasons. Seniors , and have combined for 86 home runs over the course of their four-year careers.
DID YOU KNOW: Oregon State’s current 37-8 overall record matches the Beavers’ record after 45 games last season.
DEFINITELY DOUBLE DOWN: Oregon State’s 62 doubles rank in second place in the Pac-10. Washington leads the conference in doubles with 63, while UCLA ranks third with 61 two-basers.
BALANCED BATTING ATTACK: Oregon State’s current .306 team batting average is the highest in program history since joining the Pacific-10 Conference in 1987. The Beavers finished the 2003 campaign with a .274 clip from the plate.
FROM THE BATTERS BOX: Oregon State enters the week with an amazing nine different players on the roster batting above .300 - The Beavers boast the Pac-10’s second-best batting clip with a team average of .306. Junior shortstop leads the team with a .356 (53-for-149) clip from the plate to go along with a team-leading 13 doubles. Freshman ranks second on the squad with a .348 (40-for-115) average. Young has hit above .300 throughout the season and ranks third on the team in home runs (7) and slugging percentage (.609). Senior outfielder is hitting a career-best .331 (46-for-139) with 26 runs scored and a team-best 32 RBI, while Beaver pitcher is batting .330 (33-for-100) with eight home runs.
FROM THE CIRCLE: Beaver junior pitchers (23-4) and (14-4) combined to win 28 consecutive appearances before Oregon State dropped its 3-2 8-inning contest against No. 9 Arizona State on April 1. McGowan has amassed 184 strikeouts in 189.1 innings of work, while McElroy has 86 K’s in 107.0 innings of action. McGowan has totaled 613 career strikeouts - the fourth highest total of any pitcher in OSU history.
THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY: Oregon State entered the week ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in two different categories:
Home Runs per game: 7th - 1.09
Won-Loss Percentage: 8th - .822
THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER: Oregon State has outscored its opponents 21-2 in the second inning...Shortstop is the only player to start every game of the season in the same position...OSU is 6-0 on the season in night games... is tied for the Pac-10 lead in runs scored with 46 and in home runs with 14... is tied for the Pac-10 lead with 13 doubles...Freshman is tied for the lead in the Pac-10 in fielding double plays with 14...Junior has tallied 16 RBI with 2-outs...Senior is batting .408 (29-for-71) with runners on base...Oregon State is 28-1 when scoring first...The Beavers are 25-1 on the season when tallying more hits than their opponent.
BEAVERS IN THE TOP 25: Oregon State moved up three spots this week to a program-best No. 5 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll. Seven Pacific-10 Conference squads currently rank in the Top 25; 1. UCLA, 3. Arizona, 5. Oregon State, 7. California, 9. Stanford, 10. Arizona State, 17. Washington. The Beavers are also ranked a program-best No. 5 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll.
FACING THE BEST: The No. 5 ranked Beavers hold a 12-7 record this season against teams ranked in the Top-25. The Beavers finished the 2005 season with 16 victories against opponents ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Poll. Of Oregon State’s 59 games on the season, the Beavers faced ranked opponents on 26 occasions OSU moved as high as No. 6 nationally during the 2005 campaign.
BEATING THE COMPETITION: Oregon State has an advantage over its opponents in several statistical categories:
- Batting average: .306-.224
- Runs scored: 239-94
- RBI: 218-84
- Home Runs: 49-18
- Total bases: 585-357
- Slugging percentage: .488-.310
- Earned run average: 1.80-4.69
THE WINNING STREAK: No. 5 ranked Oregon State reeled off a school record 28 consecutive victories from Feb. 11-Mar. 31. The winning streak was the longest in the nation this season and marked the longest in Division I softball since University of Arizona won 32 in a row in 2002. The 28-game streak ranks in a tie for 16th place all-time in the NCAA Division I record book. Oregon State became one of just 11 teams in NCAA history to win 28 straight games.
THE NUMBERS BREAKDOWN: Oregon State returns 13 players from last season’s squad that finished with a 43-16 overall record and earned a share of the Pacific-10 Conference championship (the first regular season Pac-10 championship for any women’s sport in Oregon State history). OSU earned the Pac-10’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regional Tournament as the Beavers made their seventh consecutive postseason appearance. The Beavers reached the Regional Tournament championship game for a fifth time in the last seven years, before falling to DePaul University. The Beavers return eight defensive starters from a year ago, as well as three pitchers - including Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year and first team All-American .
OSU SOFTBALL COMPLEX: Oregon State currently holds a 55-32 all-time record in games played at the OSU Softball Complex. The Beavers boast a 21-28 mark against opponents ranked in the Top 25. OSU is 12-3 at home this season and finished the 2005 regular season campaign with a 10-4 mark in Corvallis.
TICKET PRICES: Oregon State will be charging admission to all of its home games starting this season. All tickets must be purchased at the gate and all seats are general admission.
General Admission: $6
Seniors (62+) and Youth (3-18): $4
PAC-10 COACHES POLL: In a preseason poll voted on by the Pac-10 coaches, Oregon State was tabbed to finish fifth in the conference. Last year’s defending national championship runner-up, UCLA, was picked to finish first. The Beavers were predicted to finish seventh in the 2005 poll but won a share of the Pac-10 title and earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
2005 PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE CO-CHAMPIONS: Oregon State earned a share of the 2005 Pacific-10 Conference championship - the first regular season Pac-10 title for any women’s sports team in Oregon State history. OSU, Arizona, California, and Stanford all finished with 13-8 records in conference play. The Beavers won the tie-breaker to earn the Pac-10’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regional Tournament. For the first time in program history, Oregon State won the season series against five conference opponents (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Washington).
IN THE DUGOUT: , a former player for the 1999 NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins, enters her fourth season at Oregon State. Buck was promoted to the first assistant position in September of 2004. A four-year letterwinner, Buck graduated from UCLA in 2002. Former OSU standout shortstop joins Oregon State for her first season as an assistant. A three-time All-Pacific-10 Conference honoree, Feldt helped lead the Beavers to three straight NCAA Regional Tournament appearances before graduating in 2001. She dominates the OSU record book with her name dotting eight different career batting categories. Former Beaver player and assistant coach moves into the newly created position of Director of Softball Operations. Smith spent four seasons as an assistant. The first recruit to sign a letter of intent to play for , Smith, was a member of OSU’s squad from 1995-99 and helped the Beavers make their first NCAA Regional Tournament appearance.
THE WORD ON WALKER: Head coach is in his 12th season at the helm for the Beavers. Walker, a graduate of UCLA, has turned around Oregon State’s softball program to make it a contender on a national scale. Walker has led the Beavers to seven consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament appearances. The winningest coach in program history, Walker, has an overall coaching record of 415-316-3 and a 90-184 mark in the Pacific-10 Conference. Walker guided the 2005 Beavers to a share of the Pacific-10 Conference title and earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. Walker and his staff were honored as the Speedline Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year after their efforts in 2005. He earned his 400th career victory earlier this season when Oregon State rallied for a 2-1 8-inning win against BYU in the home opener on Mar. 25, 2006. Walker was selected as one of just 12 coaches named to the USA Softball National Team Coaches Pool, and serves as an assistant coach for the USA Elite Team. Prior to his arrival at Oregon State, Walker spent 11 seasons at national powerhouse UCLA as a manager and assistant coach. During his time in Westwood, the Bruins won six NCAA titles and made 10 appearances in the College World Series.
